Share “Gleason shows high-tech controls at ALS,...”

Gleason shows high-tech controls at ALS, MS home

Published on NewsOK
Modified: January 17, 2013 at 7:11 pm •
Published: January 17, 2013

Advertisement

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Steve Gleason, a New Orleans hero since he blocked a punt for the first touchdown in the Saints' first home game after Hurricane Katrina, says that until there's a cure for his paralyzing disease, technology is the cure.

From left, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients Jay Rink, left, Kevin Kelty, second left, and Mark Manchester, far right, and Kelty's wife Kim listen as Steve Gleason, a former New Orleans Saints NFL football special teams standout who was diagnosed with ALS, demonstrates the newest technology for Team Gleason House, a residence he is creating for up to 18 people with ALS and multiple sclerosis, during a news conference, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013, in New Orleans. Work is still being done at the residence, which will make up the first floor of a 116-bed skilled nursing facility being developed by the St. Margaret's Daughters order in a mid-city hospital abandoned after the floods of Hurricane Katrina. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Gleason, a former special teams standout who now gets around in a powered wheelchair, showed off some of that technology Thursday at a residence he's creating for up to 18 people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis, another disease that progressively damages the nervous system.

A computerized system in the Team Gleason House lets someone control lights, doors, window shades, televisions, and room temperature by moving a hand or with head, eyes, or breath.

Work is still being done at the residence, which will make up the first floor of a 116-bed skilled nursing facility being developed by the St. Margaret's Daughters order in a mid-city hospital abandoned after the floods of Hurricane Katrina.

Chase gave Gleason's foundation, Team Gleason, $350,000 to install the system made by Promixis LLC of Jupiter, Fla.